Melissa Concho Antonio, Acoma Pueblo jar

Melissa Antonio is a member of the Red Corn Clan and the Sun Clan and was born into the Acoma Pueblo in 1965. Her interest in becoming an artisan was sparked at the age of 12 when she observed her mother Lillie Concho. Her mother taught her how to gather and prepare the clay and how to make natural pigments from materials within the Acoma Pueblo. She specializes in hand coiling the traditional black on white eye dazzler patterns. She uses the ancestral traditions to make her pieces. Her work is occasionally accented by adding a kokopelli band on the side of the pottery. She signs her work as M.C. Antonio, Acoma. Her awards include: 1992 New Mexico State Fair 1st and 2nd Place, 1993 New Mexico State Fair 3rd Place, 1994 New Mexico State Fair 1st Place, Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonies, 1996 Eight Northern Pueblos Art Show 1st Place, and 1997 New Mexico State Fair 2nd Place. She has been featured in publications such as Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni and Southern Pueblo Pottery 2,000 Artist Biographies.

**Sources: http://www.material-insight.com/IndianArt/PeoplePhotos/AntonioMelisaAcoma.htm